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Saturday, December 12, 2015

Parrott On McLaughlin

Club Historian Ron Parrott has written the following about Mick McLaughlin:

Born Newport 5th January 1943, Died Newport 6th December 2015

As a youngster, Mick excelled at all sports but attended a rugby-playing school, St. Illtyd’s in Cardiff. He played both rugby and football as a teenager and was spotted playing for local club Nash United by Newport County, who drafted him into their youth team. Mick did not make the grade with Newport at the first attempt and moved on for spells with Merthyr Tydfil, Barry Town and Lovells Athletic before returning to Somerton Park in 1968.

He went on to make 90 Football League Division Four appearances, scoring three goals for County before John Charles signed him for United In 1970. Mick finally left Edgar Street in 1975, having made 218 first-team appearances for United and linked up with Cheltenham Town, where he proved to be a consistent performer at either right-back or centre-half and skippered the side but chose to retire at the end of his first season at Whaddon Road.

Mick then returned to rugby union with Newport Saracens before Newport County persuaded him to help them out in 1977/78 and he made a further nine appearances back at Somerton Park but he quickly returned to rugby and toured the USA with Newport Saracens shortly afterwards. Whilst on tour, Mick decided he would like to make a new life in the States and asked his employers, a freight forwarding company, to transfer him there.

Mick then lived the next 30 years in Atlanta, Georgia and built up his own business there before returning to live in Newport upon his retirement in 2010.